Multiplying Success: Small-Group Instruction in an Early College High School Mathematics Class

The study was conducted in an early college high school’s 9th-grade Precalculus class and focused on how differentiated small-group math centers impact students’ course grades and overall math progress. Students’ math journals were evaluated on how effective students find the Precalculus math centers to improve their math progress and grade. A paired sample t-test showed that students significantly improved their course grades and overall math knowledge over twelve weeks of instruction. However, students’ views about the small group instruction differed greatly. Working in small group math centers is an effective instructional method. Advanced students can move through the curriculum faster and work on enrichment, while others are given extra time and support to reach proficiency. It is, however, significantly more time-consuming than the traditional lecture/practice method. Capitalizing on the effectiveness of small group instruction is only possible after finding a way to reduce the time it takes to prepare for the centers.